The Barbarian vs. Caster

[Phreke]

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Attribute Distribution
3. Skill Distribution
4. Equipment (with substitutions)
5. Swapping Your Barbarian
6. Dueling Strategies
7. Final Notes




1. Introduction:

So you want to make a Barbarian with all the benefits of enhanced life and damage, but you keep getting killed by those pesty casters. Well, thank whoever, but this guide is here to remedy it! It will take you through the makings of a Barbarian who specializes in killing casters (henceforth, this Barbarian will be known as the BvC). In this guide, you will be taken through stat point and skill point distribution, as well as recommended equipment from me. Finally, it will show you how you can easily convert your BvC to a BvB (or Barbarian vs. Barbarian).



2. Attribute Distribution:

This is the easy part! If you've made any other vitality build, this is no different.

Strength: As much as needed to wear equipment
Dexterity: As much as needed to wear equipment*
Vitality: Everything else
Energy: None

With this build, you shouldn't need to put up much of anything to wear equipment, since a lot of the items GIVE strength/dexterity.



3. Skill Distribution:

This is the skill set I use on my BvC. But as this is only a guide, do what you will.

Whirlwind (your main skill)- 20 points
Axe Mastery (damage)**- 20 points
Battle Orders (life)- 20 points
Shout (defense)- 20 points
Beserk (substitute for whirlwind)- 1 point
Battle Command (increased skills)- 1 point
Increased Stamina (pre requisite)- 1 point
Increased Speed (for chasing people down, not teleing)- 1 point
Iron Skin (defense)- 1 point
Natural Resistance (for elemental attacks)- 1-5 points, pending on what you need (if any)
Leap (stuns)- Everything else

Of course, you will put points into all pre-requisite skills. You will easily get your main skills and put a few crucial points into leap by level 90 (with all skill quests).



4. Equipment:

This is my recommended equipment that you should wear to maximize damage. A few substitutes will be included.

Helm (Choice 1): 2barb/visionary/3bo/life/2os helm. This is nearly impossible to find on the realms, but is in fact the best. Socket this with x2 Ber runes or x2 40/15s. If you can get your hands on one of these babies, go for it!

Helm (Choice 2): 10fhr/visionary/life/2os helm. Much more common than choice 1, but again, hard to find the perfect match.

Helm (Choice 3): Arreats, plain and simple. Socketed with a Ber rune or a 40/15

Armor: There is only one choice of armor: Enigma. This is the main part that makes your Barbarian a BvC. This armor gives nice attributes and the crucial ability to teleport. The type of armor is up to you.

Weapon One: Grief Zerker. Though it doesn't display good damage, it deals a shitload.

Weapon Two: Beast runeword made in a beserker axe. This gives good stats, open wounds, and a fanaticism aura, which boosts IAS and Damage. Open wounds will destroy energy shield sorceresses because they have low health and it penetrates their energy shield.

Belt (Choice 1): Verdungo's. Gives life, DR, and Vita. Best choice.

Belt (Choice 2): Arachnids (if you need the FCR). Provides a skill, mana, and the FCR.

Gloves (Choice 1): 20ias/str/dex/KB gloves. The stats help with gear, the IAS helps with WW attacks, and KB is crazy effective.

Gloves (Choice 2): 20ias/stat gloves. More common than the KB counterpart, and cheaper

Gloves (Choice 3): Dracula's Grasp, though I do NOT recommend these.

Boots (Choice 1): BBrogues or similar tri-res boots with stats.

Boots (Choice 2): Gore riders for the DS/CB/OW

Boots (Choice 3): Treks/Waterwalks

On switch: HotO and a 3bo CTA.

Inventory (Required): 20 stat torch/anni. Self explanitory.

Inventory (Choice 1): x25 36ar/20life SC's (for massive AR), x2 5res/5fhr SC's (to help with FHR), x9 20/5 SC's (to help with resists), and x1 451 (for VSing something with ES. Otherwise, go with another 20/5)

Inventory (Choice 2): x37 3/20/20 SC's. Classic, effective choice. Gives more damage than choice 1, but you suffer in other areas.

Inventory (Choice 3): x37 36/20 SC's. Crazy massive AR, but you suffer a loss of max damage given by 3/20/20's.


Jewelry (Required): 10fcr/AR/life ring. You need the 10% fcr to hit an acceptable casting speed, and the other mods just help your barb in general.

Jewelry (Choice 1): Angelic Ring and Amulet, if you need AR.

Jewelry (Choice 2): Ravenfrost + Highlords.


5. Swapping Your Barb:

This is the beauty of this class: it can easily be swapped with some choice equipment to make a perfect barbarian vs. barbarian! I will only list some choices for this, being as swapping is optional to the class and shouldn't be done without certain equipment.

Helm: Leave as is or use a Crown of Ages (I leave as is)
Armor: Swap to Fortitude. More damage and defense.
Weapons*: What I recommend is take off the beast and put on a Stormshield Monarch with a "ber" rune. This will give optimal defense with a nice amount of damage reduction.
Boots: Same
Gloves: Same
Jewelry: Same
Belt: Swtich to Dungos if you're not using it already.



[color=indigo]6. Dueling Strategies:

I do not pretend to be an expert at dueling. I am an average dueler at best, but these are the strategies that I find work in most duels.

General Advice: When whirlwinding, never try to namelock someone. Always pick a spot after them and whirwind through them. Also, try, if possible, to hit the outermost EDGE of them. Imagine a triangle with a circle in the middle, but the circle overlaps the edges of the traingle. This is how you want to whirlwind. Also, my guide is written for MINIMAL equipment change. This keeps the guide extremely GM. I never advocate the use of things like "hotspurs" or "wisp rings" or "tgods" (unless you actually use the equipment for dueling on a regular basis).

Vs Sorceress/Necros: Pretty much teleport right on them and whirlwind them. I find that it helps to put on your mini map and pick a spot that is a straight line towards them, but "overshoot" a bit. This ensures you get NEAR them so you can whirlwind THROUGH them. Try to avoid the necro's clay golem/summons.

Vs Melee Pallys/Melee Druids (zealots, any others that are NOT smiters): There are two type of melee pallys. The "shift dueler" and the "i'm going to chase you to all hell and hope to kill you." The latter should be taken down very easily with general strategy. For the latter, you will want to use leap to knock them back, then immediately teleport onto them to hit them. Then you will use either teleport or run (hence why you put one into increase speed ;]). They will chase you, repeat. This kills them pretty easily. For the former, they are a much harder dueler. By standing still, they eliminate themselves getting hit as much by the whirlwind. So you want to find the spot where they cannot hit you, teleport right there after you do a short leap (to stun them hopefully), barely glance their flank, then RUN LIKE HELL (especially if you are using enigma and dual axes still). Usually this spot is top right of their aura (if they are facing you. So their characters bottom-left).

Vs Smiters: Oh how I hate them. Constant max block, usually at least SOME damage reduction, and high defenses. Not to mention they usually eat through you if they are used right. You want to do what you did for shift duelers, only much more carefully. Put on any open wound material you may have, because this is going to be a long duel. This is where a stormshield may come in handy instead of your beastz.

Vs Bowazons: Teleport right onto them, avoid their arrows, and cut out their range. Any hit recovery you have would help you here. Usually you hit them enough with a whirlwind or two that they stop dodging and just die.

Vs Fc Zons: Same as bowazons.

Vs Cs Zons: Hope you have high resists and life. If they switch equipment at all, try to get them while they're doing it. You'll want to leap to knock them back, but be warned, they can dodge it. So as soon as you leap and set them into hit recovering, do a very short whirlwind at their backside and then run a bit to start over. You should be able to tank/avoid their lightning bolts if they throw them at you.

Vs Other Barbs: Put on stormshield (this is HIGHLY recommended. More damage reduction is great.) Stand back from them and wait for them to start their whirlwind action. Once it starts to seem like its going to end, teleport right next to them and start your own. Always remember to whirlwind through them, but for barbs, whirlwind yourself AWAY from them. This ensures you will be out of range of their next whirlwind. To double check yourself, tele a bit away from them. Repeat

Vs Elemental Druids: Try to get them as SOON as they teleport. This means ALL of their summons are over them. You may think "wow, thats a great idea. destroy all of their meat shields, but dont harm them!". But here is my reasoning: if you eat through the oak sage, then they have very low life coupled with low defenses. 99% of the time, it takes only a fraction of your whirlwind to eat through the oaksage and completely destroy them. Try, as always, to hit them from the rear so you dont get pelted with those nasty tornados.

Vs Hammerdins: Hammerdins are also one of the hardest classes you will face. Their whole offense spirals around them, forcing you to hit them but also be hit. The best strategy I can recommend is either directly AFTER a charge or teleport, leap to fhr lock them, tele, and do the triangle whirlwind strategy to finish them off. Most people use Widowmaker in this situation, but that would require a gear change, which I hate. You should be able to tank a few hammers though, don't worry.




7. Final Notes:

Remember, this is a GUIDE. These are my ideas and are solely my ideas. Even the flaws in this guide (because there probably are some) are mine. This is meant for you to build off of. If you want to completely copy this guide, I will be flattered, but just don't try to pass this guide off as your own. Any comments will be helpful and graciously received, as long as they are not insulting or likewise.

*A note on dexterity: If you plan on swapping out your weapon(s) for BvB equipment, you should put enough into dexterity to achieve max block with stormshield.

**A note on axe mastery: This is only if you use axes. If you plan on using a different weapon, max the corresponding mastery to your weapon type.

Updated February 9, 2009

[PuReAzNpRiDe]

very nice guide but for BvC
wouldnt it be better to max iron skin rather than shout cuz it would end up wit more def
maxdef+ xlvl of shout= more def O.o

[Phreke]

[treezzzzz]

i would put a 1 point in berserk. berserk is godly

[Phreke]

[treezzzzz]

[Phreke]

[PuReAzNpRiDe]

wats ur barbs name?

[treezzzzz]

[Phreke]

[Dark-II]

thanks ill give it a try

[NiCK]

[ManBearPig]

Nice guide but i cant seem to kill a hammerdin with thise barb

[Maintenceman]

[magikod]

Great guide.

I can always help teach the basic's of BvC. I had one for a while.

[8BaLL]

im too much of a noob to do this kind of stuff i dont really like dueling

but it looks like a great guide

[ss_mendel]

Also remember, 2x doom and 40 fcr against bm zons!

[Maddi]

Good guide
Didn't state rings/amulet though

Should state whether this build is for..
2x angelic ring and amulet

or

highlords and 2x raven

or something alternate

Personally I love grief over botd. Mostly because it pierces energy shield.

[Parasola]

grief > ebotdz

trang/drcs > ogre gauntlets

you forgot about widow

with widow hdins are way easier to kill

[Shziwt]

nice 8/10